New manager John Coleman can’t wait for Saturday to come as he will at long last take charge of Gillingham for the first time.

It is literally “take two” for John Coleman on Saturday after last weekend’s postponement against Fleetwood Town denied the new boss a first game in charge of Gillingham, this weekend sees the visit of Doncaster Rovers to MEMS Priestfield with the new man readily admitting that 12.30pm Saturday lunchtime cannot come quickly enough.

“I can’t even say roll on 3pm, can I?” joked the boss at this week’s briefing.

“Saturdays are always a special time for me anyway, but when you are in charge for the first time, it’s even more special.”

“Not playing last weekend was frustrating, but it has given us time to think and digest things. I do believe that the fans deserve to see some shift in the mentality of the player’s level.”

“I’m not going to knock the previous manager or the ones before them, but the players have a duty to start standing up for themselves and being counted and repay the fans’ patience especially in this day and age when money is tight everywhere and people are prepared to spend their money to watch us; the least they deserve is to see people running around and showing some pride and desire – in all my life being involved in football I think that that is what has come across the most!”

“Hopefully we can show signs of improvement; I would like to see us attack more and score more goals, making more chances. It’s everything that a fan wants to see – I am a fan, well by tea-time I am – I want to be enthralled and I want us to excite our fans!” 

“I cannot wait for Saturday to come… first game in a new job, but it’s been like riding a bike, done it for so long that we have clicked straight back into it.”

“Having the extra week has given us time to look into things a bit further and analyse things that we couldn’t before last weekend, and things that we can do better.”

“The thrill of the challenge and the thrill of the chase never leaves you – it makes you feel alive!” 

“After the game last week was called off, I wondered early in the week, if the side that would have played last week was the same one as the one that will start against Doncaster.”

“I spoke to Jimmy (Bell, Coleman’s no 2) on Monday and asked him do you think this eleven will be the same after the last session on Friday or will it be a different team?”

“And we have checked and the answer is no it won’t be the same team as possibly one, maybe two, will be different from what it was going to be last week.”

“I have been impressed with what I have seen in training, with the quality, the way that they handle the ball, but we still need to tighten a few things up a little bit as even in training, they are still guilty of giving the ball away unnecessarily and that is something that we have to take on board, but there is a lot of quality in this team.”  

Looking at his first Gillingham squad, Coleman revealed that the only one definitely missing would be Conor Masterson as the Irishman is still a couple of weeks away from being fit.

Everyone else will be available making the new manager’s first choice across the field a fascinating one. 

Meanwhile forward Asher Agbinone looks set to debut after impressing Coleman in training. The Crystal Palace loanee is poised for his debut on Saturday, with the club working hard on closing at least a couple more deals. 

Reflecting on the task ahead of the Club in this current transfer window, the new boss conceded, “It’s a funny industry really, the fact that you try to get people to do the jobs to the best of their ability, but you’re always looking to replace them.”

“There’s not many industries that do that, but that’s the nature of the game. If you stand still, you go backwards. I am looking to strengthen all over, as the club are. The club are always looking to get better players in to compete at the top end”

“We’ve spent a lot of time and passed on a load of people we could have signed. I think that’s just as important. The thing that people don’t realise that for every signing you make, you’ve got to dismiss another thirty or sometimes as many as forty.” 

“If we feel that players can come in and make a difference to us, we’ll be open to signing them. I’d never say never about getting someone in for Doncaster, but the mechanics of one or two players that we think we’re going to get might make it difficult,” Coleman explained before adding.

“You cannot make signings just for the sake of them as if they’re not going to improve your team, don’t sign them. So, if I can’t get players in who I think will make a difference, I’ll go with a low number rather than fill a squad up with players who won’t play!” 

Gills fans are reminded that kick off at MEMS Priestfield on Saturday is at 12.30pm.